Soundex Insulation; Worth the Weight?

I would like any feedback as to whether the Soundex materials or others like it are worth the extra 20lbs. Also, if already flying with it, what noticeable difference can you see/ feel.

For what it's worth, I'm running with nothing more than cockpit carpet. I use a set of Headset Inc. ANRs and I find it comfortable. I'm not inclined to trade off the extra weight for perceived benefit. My understanding is the the firewall has to be sealed 100% as sound will propogate through very small openings and I'm not sure if there's any real data out there on the actual sound level reductions.

A good headset is lighter. Some of us are making in-ear setups for <$100 that beat $1000 ANR commercial cupped sets in noise reduction.

That all makes sense for the 2 seat RVs, but the RV-10 is a travel machine and anything you do to add to the comfort will go a long way. I'm using the SoundEx products but I did not get their "complete" kit---too expensive, too much. I ordered bulk sheet and "rolled" my own.

I used the Super Soundproofing foam from ACS in my 6A. Very light, very effective. Have 1/4 in the floors and back of firewall, 1/8 on front upper skins. Same on the RV10. This makes a big difference for only a few pounds of weight, Really reduces floor drumming. Well worth it in my view and makes the cabin a lot warmer in the winter of up high.

Just wandering how those that purchased the RV-10 Soundex kit made out with the fitting, using the layed out patterns. We have only worked with the floor patterns and have not found one to be the correct size yet. We may be installing it incorrectly as we have the insulation touching all edges (i.e. rib to rib ) . If we were to cut the pattern exactly there would be about a 3/16" void all around the bay. This doesn't seem correct, so we carefully measure and check where to allow the extra insulation material that is inbetween the layout and make up for the missing material. So far there has been enough , with non to spare, to get a good fit.
What are we doing wrong?
Ron

I believe the product is not supposed to cover the entire panel-------at least that is the way it is done in typical car stereo
installations. Just adds mass to the resonate panel, changes the characteristics to make things quieter.

Probably best to check with the manufacture.

Good luck, keep us posted.

I did a lot of reading on this, looked at Sound-ex, but decided it was way to expensive. I finally did my firewall with Dyna-Mat with a little modification. I I used two layers of 1/4 dynamat, used the adhesive side to apply tin foil, used small bubble wrap between this, glued with non flamable adhesive. It came out very lite weight. I did a burn test to see what kind of fumes and whether it would go out on its own. It did. I was very pleased with application. Just takes time to cut pieces. I did this more for a thermal barrier than for sound. In reading about this, it is amazing how effective the tin foil & air barrier are for reducing sound & heat. Application came out very similar to Soundex, but at a fraction of the price. Your results may vary.

Dyna-Mat DIY

Do you have any pictures of the steps you took to make your own sound/heat proofing? Same for others... I am at the brake/fuel-line stage in my RV-10 and would like to put what appropriate insulation for heat/sound that I can at a good price and weight.

From what I've read, the heat propagation is the bigger or more recurrent 'issue' but sound absorption in the right spots would be smart, too. Places to insulate include the firewall (engine and/or cabin side) and tunnel. Any other strategic placement suggestions?

Doug.

FWIW I used the super soundproofing from ACS on my firewall. I cut pieces of the 1/8-inch stuff to be about 18 inches x 4 ft, bought some heavy Al foil (Aviation aisle of Safeway!) and used spray contact cement to layer the foam and foil. I ended up with 4 layers of foam and 3 layers of foil. The thought is that the combination (as noted above) would be the best for attenuating sound. Once the stuff set up overnight, I made some cardboard templates for the firewall, and used those to make the cuts on the layered material. Then just contact cement onto the firewall - probably easier to do before the rudders etc are installed!. Not flying yet (but hopefully next week!) so I don't know the result. I am happy with the way it looks and feels so far.

greg

Sound proofing

Greg, so how did your sound proofing work out? I assume your flying now and I'd be interested in your comments about whether you think adding ACS sound proofing material is worth the weight and effort.
thanks

Steve,

In terms of weight, its a minimal addition. In terms of sound proofing, it's really difficult to tell anything quantitatively, since I never flew without it. I THINK it must be doing something but don't really have a direct comparison. Flying in other RVs with various configurations seems about the same, and maybe slightly noisier than mine, but I also use ANR headsets. Obviously there are multiple other sound paths than through the firewall. Bottom line is that I'm happy with the installation and would probably do it again, since it was quite easy to make up the layers. The one thing I would modify if doing again would be to put more glue between the layers when building the "sandwich." There are a couple of places that have delaminated slightly and I'm sure its for lack of sufficient glue. Is it better than just a single layer of super soundproofing that is equal thickness? I don't know.

In addition to the firewall, I put some soundproofing on the floors (super soundproofing 3/4-inch thick, no sandwich) and laid some 0.063 Al on top of that material, which also probably helps with the noise attenuation. I think that the benefits (if any) of the sandwich material are not likely to be as important on the floors. I'm considering doing this under the seats and baggage area as well (one of these days.... maybe at annual time). And eventually some interior cloth panels will help.... but I'm too busy flying to get so some of this right away...

Sorry I can't be more definitive on the sound-reducing properties.

cheers,
greg

Soundex- open cell foam

I was unhappy when I received my order from Soundex. I have tested a piece of material and found it absorbs water like a sponge. Wasted 1.5k$ plus 6 hours to remove already applied material from the belly. Then I just ordered 3/4" closed cell mats from Aircraft spruce

Would you mind sharing some pictures with the new material?

ivanjr said:

I would like any feedback as to whether the Soundex materials or others like it are worth the extra 20lbs. Also, if already flying with it, what noticeable difference can you see/ feel.

Click to expand...

Having now flown my RV-10 for 150 hrs, I'm glad I did not waste the weight of soundproofing. Rather than add 20 Ibs of soundproofing, I had South Florida Sport Aviation install their interior package. An interior helps deaden sound and it looks nice. I have no problems with noise while using my Bose A20.

With good door seals (which are a must, including seals around the hinge pockets), an RV-10 is relatively quiet anyway. Add a decent set of headsets and it is a very comfortable environment from a noise perspective.

Soundex

Has anyone recently used Soundex insulation for noise reduction? Any feedback on cabin noise?

Jim P said:

For what it's worth, I'm running with nothing more than cockpit carpet. I use a set of Headset Inc. ANRs and I find it comfortable. I'm not inclined to trade off the extra weight for perceived benefit. My understanding is the the firewall has to be sealed 100% as sound will propogate through very small openings and I'm not sure if there's any real data out there on the actual sound level reductions.

Click to expand...

Same for me and still comfy on 3 hr legs.